Flashback
by juniorvaristy
Summary: Dustin's supposed to be the goofy one, the happy one. He's not supposed to have a serious side or have any problems. Well guess what? He does. My first PR fic...
1. Chapter 1

**Flashback- Chapter 1**

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anyone except for Chloe and anyone else not seen or mentioned in the show. 

**Rated: **PG-13

**Summary: **Dustin is supposed to be the goofy one, the one that just doesn't have problems. But guess what? He does. 

**Author's Note: **Each chapter either includes a flashback or is a flashback. Does everybody get that? 

            It wasn't like anyone was supposed to know about what was going on in my life. Nobody asked so I never told. I guess it wasn't their fault at all. They all just assumed that I had a happy-go-lucky life. And in a way I did. At least until the day my sister came back into my life. Everything seemed to go downhill from there. No one else ever really suspected it because it was just way too out of character for me. Or maybe they did and refused to believe that I had problems too. My little sister was a really sweet girl, not that anyone would be able to tell just by looking at her. But that's what really pissed me off. Everyone judged her at a first glance. 

*~*

            "Dustin, where are you going?" my mom asked me after school one day. I turned slowly and glanced at my mom.

            "I'm going to Storm Chargers. I told Kelly I'd be able to fit in another shift for her today for extra money."

            She sighed.

            "What? What did I do this time?"

            "Nothing. I was just hoping you would be home for dinner."

            "Why? It's okay mom, I'll just grab something to eat."

            "No we have guests tonight. Oh, alright. I'll just bring her over to see you."

            "Who?"

            "It's a surprise," she cracked a smile, "If I told you, it wouldn't be such a surprise would it?" I rolled my eyes and flew out the door. 

            "Dustin! Can you bring out another box of riding gloves? We're running a little short on the mediums!" Kelly shouted from the front of the store. I dropped my wrench and wiped my hands on my jeans before headed into the storage room to grab a box of gloves. 

            "Here you go, Kell," I dropped the box on the front counter and smiled politely at a few guests that she was helping out. I nodded to Blake and Hunter who had come into the store carrying more boxes, heading to the storage room. Tori and Shane jumped down from their position on the front counter to help them. I started working on the broken motor bike once again. A few minutes later I heard the bells jingle signaling someone else came into the store. 

            "Hello, Mrs. Baker!" everyone chorused. I froze. The surprise. I'd completely forgotten about it. I raced out to the front, "Hi mom!" I skidded to a stop in front of her and halted in mid-hug. The girl standing behind my mother. She was my sister. 

            "Chloe?!" I stepped back. 

            "Dustin?" the younger girl replied, shying away from my—our—mother.

            "DUSTIN!" she exclaimed, flying into my arms, "I missed you so much!"

            "I missed you too, Chloe…" I murmured into her reddish hair, "I see you changed your hair preference."

            "I might change it again. I'm getting a little sick of red," she wrinkled her nose, "What do you think? Blue? Or pink?"

            "I think you should just let it be your natural hair color."

            "I forgot what that is," she shrugged, "But I guess I could try brown for a little while, see how I like it."

            "You do that." We shared a laugh. I hadn't seen my sister for such a long time and I didn't realize how much I really missed her until I saw her again. 

            "Hey, Kelly, Tori, Shane, Hunter, Blake!" I called. They all looked up, even though I knew they were watching the whole time, "Dude, this is my sister. Chloe. That's Shane, Tori, Hunter, and Blake." I introduced everyone. 

            "Hi," was the general scattered reply. 

            "Nice to meet you," Chloe responded politely before turning to me, "So do you still motocross or what?"

            "I still motocross."

            "That's good to know. Maybe I could watch you practice some time soon."

            "That would be totally awesome! Hey, did you bring your guitar? I think I might remember some drums or something like that."

            Chloe bit back a light snort, "I hate to tell you this, but you never exactly knew how to play." There were snickers from all around me. I blushed furiously.

            "Yeah, yeah…but did you have to tell everyone?"

            "Whatever."

            "So how's school treating you?"

            "Horrible. I hate it with a passion."

            "Dude, you'd love it at Blue Bay Harbor High, I'm telling you!"

            "Too bad I got kicked out," she pointed out dryly.

            "Oh…right…" Chloe rolled her eyes and punched me lightly. It felt so good to have my sister back. She was probably the closest person I had to a best friend. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love all the other rangers. But my sister just understands me more. She gets it. But from the looks on everyone else's face, they weren't happy that she did. 

*~*

            I never meant for everything to get so fucked up. I didn't mean to cause any trouble. It just happened and I never wanted anyone to get hurt. But then again, this is me we're talking about. Dustin Baker. And when it comes to me, everything gets fucked up. 

**Please review! I know this was a short chapter, but there's more to come if you want it!!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Flashback- Chapter 2 **

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anyone except for Chloe and anyone else not seen or mentioned in the show. 

**Rated: **PG-13

**Summary: **Dustin is supposed to be the goofy one, the one that just doesn't have problems. But guess what? He does. 

**Author's Note: **Thanks to those who pointed out that Dustin's last name is Brooks. I'll change that from now on. Um…I'm too lazy to go back and change that in the first chapter so you'll just have to deal with that. =D Hunter and Blake's last name is Bradley, am I right? What are the others?

            I guess it really started when the process of making friends got screwed up. Which evidently leads back to me. Chloe had been gone for a few years at boarding school and rarely came home over the summer. Or anytime for that matter. Things got really bad between her and our father, who isn't around anymore. I don't think anyone really knew what was going on with them. Hell, I still don't know and I guess I never will. 

*~*

            I was working in Storm Chargers after school one day, helping a customer with bikes. Apparently, he wanted a new one or something. I was listening to the requirements of the bike so I didn't really hear the bells jangle. Heading off into the back room to get Kelly who did some of the storage stuff until Blake and Hunter got to the store, I felt two pairs of hands on my back.

            "Dustin, being studious? No way!" I heard Tori's voice. 

            "Funny, guys," I turned around, "Have you seen Hunter or Blake?" 

            "Yeah Blake was held up at school for some reason," Shane shrugged. 

            Tori nodded in agreement, "But we didn't see Hunter around. We thought he'd be here." I nodded, slightly confused, but shrugging it off at the same time. 

            "So what's with the sister thing?" Shane asked after a few moments of rare and awkward silence.

            "What sister thing?" I asked.

            "Well, dude, after years of no contact your sister pops up out of nowhere. What's going on, man?"

            "Nothing's going on," I started to get defensive, "What the hell are you smoking man? She just decided that maybe starting at Blue Bay High again wouldn't be such a bad idea." 

            "It just sounds like a lot of trouble to me," Tori shrugged indifferently. I was started to get angry and frustrated. What were my friends getting at? Why were they incessantly nagging at the fact that, for once, something happened in my life and it happened right? 

            "What kind of trouble?" my sister's unmistakable mischievous voice rang through the store. We all looked up to see Chloe, wearing a smirk, and Hunter right behind her. 

            "Wouldn't you just love to find out?" Tori muttered under her breath. I shot her a warning glance. Tori was never one to be so…rude. What was wrong with her? 

            "So what's up?" I asked, slapping Hunter a high-five and hugging Chloe. 

            "Nothing," Hunter shrugged, "I was down at the track when I found her getting herself lost or something like that," he rolled his eyes, smiling all the same.

            "Hey, I wasn't lost. I was just aimlessly wandering!" Chloe yelled, turning red and playfully punching Hunter's shoulder.

            "A few years out of touch does a lot to your memory doesn't it, Chlo?" I teased. She slapped me. We joked around for awhile before it was time to close up the shop and head home for dinner. Blake, who came in minutes after Hunter and Chloe, insisted on driving Tori home. If those two got any more in love, I'd _force them to go out. It was kind of dumb, how neither of them saw how much the other liked them, if that makes any sense at all. Sometimes it made me sick. Shane headed in the opposite direction, which left me, Hunter, and Chloe to forge our own way home. Blake and Hunter actually lived on the street next to mine. _

            "So where did you go to school before this?" Hunter asked my sister. 

            "Well, it's kind of a long story. I'm not sure you'd want to hear about it," Chloe shrugged, looking up at Hunter. 

            "It's a pretty long walk home since Blake rudely took our ride."

            "Yeah," I chimed in, "It won't hurt to tell him Chloe." She took that as a sign of my approval, that Hunter could be trusted. And this time I knew he really could be trusted.

            "Okay," Chloe took in a deep breath, "A few years ago I got into some trouble around here even though I had nothing to do with anything that was going on. They accused me of being a part of some drug ring and the leader didn't deny it. Okay, so I admit, it was partially my fault I was hanging around with them."

            I coughed.

            She scowled at me, "Oh alright, it had everything to do with it. I wasn't part of the secret drug ring, but I had friends who were. In fact, my best friend at the time, Heather, was one of their number one clients. She couldn't get enough of that crap and she _needed _it. There were times when she'd go through withdrawal without it. It made me really sick to see her like that and I wanted to be able to do something to help her. I told her that it would be a good idea to get some help. Even she knew it was going to eat her up from the inside and kill her. But Heather was stubborn like that; she refused to admit that she needed help. One day she had a fever and couldn't leave the house. Well, that very same day she was supposed to meet the ring leader and get a new stash of that stuff. Like I said, she was sick so she couldn't go. Normally, she would've just sneaked out no matter how horrible she was feeling. But she was already in hot water with the parental unit and she didn't feel like being confined in her room for the rest of her life. So who does she ask?"

            "You?" Hunter guessed.

            "Yeah. Me. And me, I didn't want to do it. Not only was I scared of the ring leader, I wanted Heather to stop taking that shit. But she pleaded with me, begged me, and said something along the lines of, 'A real best friend would do it.' That's what really got me. So I took the money and I met the leader on the park bench like Heather always did and explained the situation to him. He didn't really give a shit about Heather, as long as I had the money to pay him for it. Of course, being me, luck had to run out. The police came screeching to a stop in front of us and arrested us and the rest of the drug ring. They sent me to a boarding school for girls and I was to go there for a year. They never caught Heather. But after a year at the boarding school, I liked it a lot better than I did at public school.

            At boarding school, everyone wore the same thing, everyone was treated the same way. And even though there were the really 'good' girls, there were a lot of girls there like me. Plus, it was an all-girls school which means that I didn't have to deal with boys. Another great plus."

            "You don't like boys very much, do you?"

            "I don't have a problem with boys, hell I love my brother to death. I just never had great experiences with them romantically. They don't go for girls like me."

            "You don't know that anymore," I pointed out, "You've been gone since freshmen year of high school. You're a junior now and I'm a senior. Boys change in three years."

            "You obviously didn't. You're still my goofy big brother, but I like you this way."

            I rolled my eyes.

            "Well anyway," she stuck her tongue out at me before turning back to Hunter, "I came back to start my junior and senior years of high school here because I figure that I spent enough time away from my family already. I really love my family even if my police record doesn't really prove that."

            "You have a police record?" Hunter asked, surprised.

            "Yeah. It's not very big. I was sent to juvy once and I've been caught drinking illegally at an unsupervised party a few times, and the whole boarding school thing. It's not as bad as a lot of my friends up at boarding school. I'm crime free now though. I think I was just a stage in my life when I felt like I needed to prove something to the world. I used to dye my hair at least once a week."

            "And now?"

            "Twice a year maybe. Dustin thinks I should try a chestnut brown for awhile," she flipped her shoulder-length red-streaked hair (at least it was red-streaked then), "What do _you_ think?"

            "Why chestnut brown, Dustin?" Hunter turned to me. 

            I shrugged, "It's her natural hair color. I just wanted to see how it looked on her. I keep forgetting."

            "Oh shut up, you do not forget. But anyway, I was thinking about streaking it again instead of dying it all the way. I'm growing rather fond of streaks now. What do you say about purple?" 

            "Uh…" Hunter and I said at the same time.

            "No? Okay fine, I'll have to go with green then." 

            Hunter turned onto his street, "I'll see you two tomorrow."  
            "HOW ABOUT ORANGE?! OKAY, YOU SLEEP ON IT!!!" she yelled after him. All I could do was laugh hysterically beside her. 

            She finally turned to me, "So is the master bastard home around this time?" she asked me with a bitterness in her voice that registered only when we talked about the "master bastard".

            "No, he's gone. Didn't you know? He's permanently gone."

            "Really?" There was glee in her voice, "Finally! I thought mom would never come to her senses."

           "She didn't," I stated wryly, "I did. I called hotline number you sent me one night and they took him away. Never to be seen again. He has a restraining order to stay away from me, you, and mom at least 500 feet."

            "Good. They should have put a country between us."

            "I don't know where he is or if he's still in Blue Bay. But I'm glad I called the hotline for mom's sake. Me and you, we knew how to take care of ourselves, especially you since you were never home anyway when it got real bad. I stayed away from the house as much as possible, but mom couldn't. And I wanted to just tell her to pack her things and leave. But…I couldn't…there were…responsibilities," I finished, not exactly revealing what 'responsibilities' I had. Somehow, Chloe seemed to understand.

            "Well as long as he's out of our lives forever."

            "He can't be."

            "And why the hell not?" she asked me, hands on her hips.

            "Because he's our father. He'll never be out of our lives."

*~*

            I'd never seen anyone so glad to hear that he'd been taken away from us. Not even I had been that happy. I'd been kind of sad, even. Of course I knew what he'd done to our family, to me. But still he was my father and he used to be my hero before things got bad. And to know that he wasn't all he was cut out to be, my heart kind of just broke. I was sad for my mother, who cried both out of happiness and sadness when he was taken away. I was sad for my sister because of her vengeance and unknown history with him. I was sad for me. 

**Thanks for the reviews!**

**ShaneWestLover: **Yeah, it is. But I forgot and didn't realize it until after I posted. Thanks!

**Blackbird: **Thanks, I will. Please keep reading it!

**Mynameis--: **Thanks! I knew it was B something, but I didn't remember what it was so I just made one up. I'm not gonna change it for the first chapter, but as I noted in the top, I'll change it from now on. 

**Jess: **lol! I'm probably not going to emphasize much on the rangers part of his life, even though it's there.

**Slave4britney: **Thanks!! =D

**Teal: **Thanks, especially for the FYI.

**Anonymous: **Whoever you are, thank you very much. 

**Please review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Flashback- Chapter 3**

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anyone except for Chloe and anyone else not seen or mentioned in the show. 

**Rated: **PG-13

**Summary: **Dustin is supposed to be the goofy one, the one that just doesn't have problems. But guess what? He does. 

**Author's Note: **This is my first PR fic, bear with me here!

            Things got really bad when Chloe started school with us. I thought that maybe my friends would tolerate her and be nice. Boy was I wrong. It was like they all decided to turn against me all of the sudden. I knew they didn't like my sister much, but I hoped that they wouldn't rag on her for my sake. I guess I didn't know them that well. 

*~*

            "Okay so…where's my first period class again?" Chloe asked in exasperation. I sighed. She was already lost and we hadn't even gotten to her locker yet.

            "You have first period with Hunter and Tori, okay? They'll show you where it is," I told her stopping at her locker, "Here it is. Mine is right down the hall so I'll be right back. Don't move." I slowly backed away and winked at her before turning and opening my locker quickly. I was glad that Tori and Hunter also had Home Economics, a class with combined grades, first period. After that, I didn't know what she'd do.

            "You never told me she was coming to school here," Shane hissed in my ear. I jumped in surprise.

            "Dude, don't do that to me! I thought you were someone else!" 

            "Sorry man. But seriously what the hell is she doing here?"

            "Uh…going to school?" And they said _I_ was the dumb one. 

            "But…but…"

            "Look," I said impatiently, "Just because she got into some trouble before doesn't mean that she hasn't changed. She's still my little sister and she's a great person. So deal." I stalked away from my so-called best friend and approached Chloe, hoping she didn't hear any of it. Luckily Hunter had found her and was talking to her. At least _he_ was being nice. 

            "Don't worry Dustin, I'll be fine," Chloe promised, reading my mind. But I did worry. I worried that she would be judged by the whole school. I worried that she'd get lost. I worried that she wouldn't be okay. We didn't even have the same lunch period. I worried for the whole day, even when I got to Storm Chargers after school and was fixing bikes. I hadn't seen Chloe since that morning and I was worried. I was absent mindedly fixing up a bike that was brought in when the bells jangled and a bunch of kids from school walked in. I was half-scared of them, but there wasn't much I could do. Kelly had run out to pick up a new order with Blake and Hunter so I was the only one in the store.

            "Are you Dustin Brooks?" one of the guys asked. I think he was a football player or something.

            "Yeah, can I help you?" I tried to keep my cool. What these guys wanted, I had no idea. All I knew was that I was _not_ looking for any trouble.

            "I guess you can."

            "What?" I was getting confused.

            "Man, what's your problem? Our school has a great reputation and suddenly you bring that whore of a sister of yours into the school and you know what? It's not so great anymore."

            "Yeah? One day of school and you know her so well already?" I yelled in his face.

            He snorted a laugh and his little cronies laughed along, "_Everyone knows what her type is like. They're all the same."_

            "Her _type? What the fuck are you talking about, her type? You don't even know her!"_

            "Yes, her type," he yelled back in my face, "She has a fucking _record and she's a fucking druggie!" Oh, now he was just asking for it. I clenched my fists and gritted my teeth, trying my best not to lunge at him and knock his brains out. He had no idea what she'd been through and there was no way in fucking hell I'd let him diss her like that._

            "Take it back," I said, my voice shaking with anger.

            He just laughed, "I don't think so, genius. You ride motocross like you rule the world. Let's see if you can fight like it too."

            "I don't need to fight to prove myself to you assholes."

            "I knew it! You're a fucking pansy; all motocross guys are." Boxes dropped. I looked up and saw Hunter and Blake standing in the doorway, looking royally pissed. Before I knew what happened, a fist connected with my face. I reeled back against the counter. Oh that was it. This was war. I lunged at the guy, my fists flying all over the place. He didn't exactly stand there and let me hit him either. Hunter and Blake came to my aid, taking on his friends. I pinned the asshole to the ground.

            "You think I'm a pansy?! You think it's some easy feat going up there and risking your neck?" It wasn't even about Chloe anymore; it was personal. These guys just wanted to spite me. And well, it worked. 

            "It doesn't take any guts to ride a damn bike!"

            "It doesn't take any brains to play football either. Then again, maybe that's why you play it!" He punched me in the gut and I flew off of him. Snarling he sprang at me, but I kicked him where the sun just don't shine. Usually I have sympathy for guys when that happens. This guy, though, I would gladly do it over again. 

            "What the hell…" Kelly ran into the store and tore the three of us off of the stupid jocks, "Get out of my store right now!" she yelled at them. Kelly could be pretty scary when she got mad. The jocks beat it out of there pretty quickly. Then she turned on us.

            "What the hell were you guys thinking? Are you _trying_ to get yourselves killed? Dustin?"

            "Sorry," I muttered, "They were ragging on my sister." It sounded stupid, even to me, when I said it out loud. But she wasn't even there when it happened so she wouldn't understand.

            "And that gives you the right to start a fight with him?"

            "Kelly," Blake came to my defense, "They started it with him, actually." It was silent for a moment before she finally sighed and shook her head.

            "You're lucky I need you around here, Dustin. Go get some ice for that eye and straighten this place out." I nodded and busied myself in the back room with the ice pack. Hunter and Blake followed me in and watched as I carefully placed the pack on my eye. 

            "You okay, man?" Hunter finally spoke up.

            I nodded.

            "Dude, you shouldn't let them provoke you like that, especially not for your sister," Blake commented. My temper started to flare up again. I think Hunter saw that because he quickly shot a warning glance at Blake.

            "What the hell do you have against her?" I asked him angrily.

            "Hey, look," he held up his hands in defense, "I hate those assholes just as much as you do, but they have a point. Your sister is definitely bad karma for us." 

            I glared at him before muttering under my breath, "I have to get back to work." I left the backroom and headed towards the bike waiting to be fixed. 

            "Hey," Hunter said from the doorway.

            "What? Do you have something to say about my sister too?" I didn't even look up at him.

            "Yeah, I do," he said softly, "She's really nice. She's funny and I like her. I don't see why everyone else doesn't."

            I looked up, surprised, "You really think so, man?"

            "Yeah I do! Yesterday when I was walking with her back to Storm Chargers, she said something that totally reminded me of you. Sometimes, you can just tell that you two are related," he smiled, "Don't worry about Blake and the others. Don't let them get to you. They'll come around eventually."

            "I hope so. I don't know if I can stand it if they don't."

            He nodded. It was silent for awhile before he spoke up again, "Can I ask you a question?"

            "You're not going to propose to me, are you dude?" I asked him jokingly.

            Hunter just laughed, "Seriously, man."

            "Yeah, sure…shoot."

            "What happened with your father and Chloe?" I felt my breath catch in my throat.

            "Uh…I'm not really sure," I told him truthfully, "You can ask her. She never really told me."

            "Oh. You guys don't like him much?"

            "That's an understatement," I sighed, putting down the wrench I was holding and jumping up onto the counter next to him, "Look if I tell you something, do you promise you won't tell anyone else?"

            He nodded, "I promise. Not even Blake or anyone."

            "Okay. Well, our father isn't around anymore. He's not allowed to be," I took in a shaky breath before continuing, "He was a drunk, a druggie, anything you could think of he probably did. He abused us. My sister, me, and my mom. When Chloe left for boarding school, things got really out of control. Chloe sent a phone number home in one of her letters and told me to call it. It was a hotline for people who got abused and stuff. I didn't call, though. I was scared because my dad could be really mean. I stayed out of the house a lot, but I think that made it worse than anything. Whenever I actually came home, I got the beating of a lifetime and I expected it every time. I hated going back to the dump that was my house. But I went back every time because I was worried about my mother. He abused her all the time and she couldn't avoid it because she was his wife. He abused her sexually too. It was my birthday last month. When I came home from school, my mom was no where to be found and my father was waiting for me with a belt and a stick in hand. And I…" I trailed off. I couldn't finish.

            Hunter watched me carefully, "You what?"

*~*

            I don't know why it was so hard for me to tell Hunter the rest of the story, maybe it was just the memories haunting me again. Somehow, he got the rest of it out of me though. 

**Thanks for the reviews!**

**Freedra Kyes: **Thanks, I will. =D

**Please review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Flashback- Chapter 4**

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anyone except for Chloe and anyone else not seen or mentioned in the show. 

**Rated: **PG-13

**Summary: **Dustin is supposed to be the goofy one, the one that just doesn't have problems. But guess what? He does. 

**Author's Note: **This is my first PR fic, bear with me here!

*~*       

            "I just stood there and let him hit me," I said barely above a whisper, "I don't know why I did it. Usually I showed resistance, which made him back-off surprisingly. But he saw that I wasn't going to stop him from doing anything so he hit me harder, lashed me faster, almost daring me to fight back. The only thing I asked him was where my mom was…"

            "And where was she?"

            "Unconscious in the closet," I stopped, feeling tears rush to my eyes as Hunter audibly gasped, "I found her there later. My dad beat me for a solid half hour and I just let him. I was just so tired of it, Hunter. I just wanted it to stop. I just wanted all the pain to go away," my tears were flowing freely now.

            Hunter reached out and touched my shoulder comfortingly, "What did you do next?"

            "After he passed out on the floor, I crawled to the phone. I was all bloody and I was in so much physical and emotional pain. I'd already memorized the number Chloe sent me. I'd looked it over so many times before and my hand had hovered over the phone more times than I can count. But I'd always been afraid. That day, though, I just wanted it to go away. I wanted to be happy again, like I used to be. So I called and within fifteen minutes, they arrived at my house and rang the doorbell. I couldn't find the strength to get up and open it myself, I was so drained. They had to bang down the door and from the way my house looked, they knew I wasn't lying when I told them I needed help. They took him away and found my mother in the closet. We were taken to the hospital to get treated and luckily, we'd both be okay. That's how I remember my 18th birthday. That's why I wasn't in school and that's why I cancelled my own birthday party."

            "We thought you were sick!"

            "That's what you were _supposed _to think."

            "But Dustin…why didn't you say anything?"

            "I didn't want you guys to know," I told him truthfully, "I was afraid that you'd all pity me. I didn't want any of your pity and I didn't want it to be a big deal around school." 

            "We wouldn't pity you."

            "You would and you know it."

            "But your 18th birthday…"

            "And every birthday from now on," I nodded grimly. I was apprehensive at first because I wasn't sure how Hunter would take it, but in the end, I was definitely glad that someone knew about it. 

            "We thought all those bruises came from the bikes."

            I laughed bitterly, "Yeah, it was always easy to hide what was going on. All I had to do was say 'motocross' and be dumb." 

            Hunter didn't say anything because he knew it was true. Now that he knew the whole story, he knew that everything I had been from the time that he'd met me up until that day had been entirely an act. At least he didn't try to reassure me that everything was going to be okay. He knew. He'd been in my shoes once, except there had been no abuse.

            "I remember what I felt like when I found out that I was adopted," he said quietly, "And I remember what I felt like the night of my foster parents' deaths. I was sad and bitter at the same time."

            "Me too," I said in response, "Sad because I lost my childhood hero and bitter because he was, and still is, the biggest mother fucker I have ever known."

            "Sad because I lost my only parents, a part of myself. Bitter because it wasn't just some accident." That's when I realized that Hunter and I, we weren't as different as I'd always thought we were. Ever since the day I'd met him, I thought that I liked Blake a lot better because he was just happier. But as I sat on the counter at Storm Chargers, spilling out all my personal experiences, I knew that Hunter and I had so much in common yet we were so different. 

            "Hey Hunter?" I said quietly as we closed up the shop by ourselves. 

            "Yeah?"

            "Maybe you wouldn't. But everyone else would." And he knew what I meant, thinking back to our conversation earlier. 

            Hunter and I walked home again since Blake left early, probably to get away from me. I knew that my acting was wearing thin; that everyone didn't like being around me because I was so brooding and dark. It didn't matter anymore and I really didn't care much either. 

            "So you like Chloe?" I asked Hunter, trying to move to a more optimistic topic. 

            Hunter blushed, "Yeah I like her, she's really cool; a lot like you."

            I rolled my eyes, "No I meant do you _like_ her?"

            He was silent. 

            "You do!"

            "I never said that!" Hunter threw back in defense.

            "You definitely do! When you don't answer like that, you do!"

            "And how would you know?"

            "Because everyone knows that!" 

            Hunter laughed, "You're smarter than I give you credit for, Dustin."  
            I rolled my eyes, "You wouldn't believe how many times I get that one in school."

            "Why? Teachers think you're stupid?"

            "You're changing the topic," I protested, "So do you like my sister or not?!"

            Hunter just shrugged. I hit him lightly before we were engulfed in silence again. Before we split and went our own ways, I turned to Hunter.

            "You can ask her out, you know. You don't need to worry about me, like, hunting you down or anything."

            Hunter just blushed lightly, "See you later, man."

            I laughed, "Dude, she's streaking her hair tonight. Green, I think," I paused before turning serious, "You won't tell will you?" I was referring to my secret.

            "No, of course not," he looked at me like I was crazy. What? I just wanted to make sure. 

            "See you later." We parted and I headed in the direction of home. I hoped my mom wasn't at work again. She worked herself way too hard. Did she think I got a job at Storm Chargers for no reason? When I opened the door of my house, I heard laughing coming from the bathroom. I smiled at the sound, dropping my bag lightly to the ground. Laughing. It was a foreign sound in the Brooks household, but I could definitely get used to it. 

            "What are you crazy ladies doing?" I poked my head into the bathroom to find Chloe and our mom streaking Chloe's hair. 

            "Hey Dustin," Chloe smiled widely, "I'm not doing it chestnut brown. I refuse to be normal!"

            I just rolled my eyes, "You'll just ruin your hair like that, but whatever."

            "Hey sweetie," my mom laughed happily, "How was your day?" I hadn't heard her so happy since I was ten and our father was still normal.

            "It was…interesting."

            "Chloe says she likes it at BBH."

            My sister nodded for emphasis, "Yeah. I'm different there, which I kind of like," she giggled at my face. I must have looked incredibly shocked. Chloe shifted her position, "I know most of the kids don't like me very much, but that's okay because I'm just around to learn. It's so much more relaxed in public school and I like that. I feel like an individual."

            I opted not to tell her about the little run-in with my best friend, the football player that afternoon. 

            "Dustin, what happened to your eye?!" my mom asked, concerned. Oh shit. 

            "I fell off my bike and after that, I was a little dizzy," I concocted a little story so that they wouldn't have to know about what really happened, "And I accidentally walked smack into a pole. You know me, always clumsy." Both my mom and Chloe burst out laughing and I relaxed, knowing that they'd bought my story. 

*~*

            As the days passed, I worried about Chloe getting into trouble with some of the jocks at school. I knew they didn't exactly like her very much. My friends, with the exception of Hunter, kept getting meaner and meaner to her. At first I took Hunter's advice and I didn't let it get to me that much, but I started to lose hope. They would never come around and look past the cover. So what if Chloe changed her hair color a few times a year? So what if she was different? She was still a good person. I just wished they could see that too. 

            Sometimes, I'd see her and Hunter in the hallways and I'd smile. At least she had a friend in him, maybe more. Though I would never _ever_ admit it to anyone else, I secretly hoped that Hunter and Chloe would get together. Maybe it would be what both of them needed to ease the pain they were going through. Chloe wasn't happy when she found out about what happened to me and our mother. Maybe everything would be okay if they got together, I'd think. But then I'd see the rest of our "friends" and they gave Hunter the dirtiest look of all dirty looks and my heart would sink again. Maybe not. 

**Please review!!**

**Wing Zero Gundam: **Lol, thanks for your review! It's very nice to know that people are getting into the story =D

**LiLAqUaMaRiE: **Thanks! I tried my very best!

**Lissa14: **My wish is your command…=D

**Please review! **


	5. Chapter 5

**Flashback- Chapter 5**

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anyone except for Chloe and anyone else not seen or mentioned in the show. 

**Rated: **PG-13

**Summary: **Dustin is supposed to be the goofy one, the one that just doesn't have problems. But guess what? He does. 

**Author's Note: **This is my first PR fic, bear with me here!

**Short chapter, sorry!! **

            Everyone tells me that I have a right to be angry, but for some strange reason, I'm not. All my friends expect me to blow-up in their faces any second, but they need to understand. I'm not going to. They don't know what it's like, facing this all alone. I don't need them to anyway, just like I don't need to be mad at anybody.

*~*

            "Dustin, wait!" I heard Chloe call out my name in the hallway. I turned around and faced my sister, who had tears brimming her eyes. Immediately, I was worried.

            "Chloe? What happened?" I opened my arms and she fell into them, sobbing. Gently I moved both of us to a staircase, sitting down.

            "Chloe?" I repeated as the bell rang and the rush of students died down. All that could be heard in the quiet hallway was the slight sniffling of my sister, muffled against my shirt. 

            "I don't know what happened, Dustin. I was fine, really I was. I didn't care that everyone hated me here; I just wanted to go to school and learn! But then they…they…told me that I was cramping your style. They said that you a reputation to keep for the school and that I didn't need to ruin it for you! They said that I didn't deserve you or Hunter, that I was just a piece of trash. And Dustin, I'm not even Hunter's girlfriend!"

            "Wait a minute, _who_ told you?" I asked her gently.

            "This girl in the hallway. She was walking with Tori and Shane. They told her to stop because I was you sister. But that just made her say even more things. She said I was a skanky whore. She called me lower than a bitch." 

            My blood boiled, "What did this girl look like?" 

            "She was tall. Brown hair, blue eyes, I think. Maybe gray, I couldn't tell," she sniffled. Katie Torrence. She'd had a crush on Hunter ever since he came into the school. Sighing, I made Chloe look at me.

            "Listen to me," I said to her, "Listen carefully. That girl is jealous that you're friends with Hunter and he won't even acknowledge her in the hallways. She's jealous that you're prettier than her, that you're _real_ and she's fake. She's a skanky whore herself and she's a bitch. Don't listen to her, okay?" 

            "But…"

            "No buts. You're not cramping my style or whatever. I don't have a reputation to keep and I definitely don't thik you're ruining anything. Ask Hunter if you deserve to be his friend."

            "She deserves to be my friend," Hunter said from the top of the stairs. Chloe snapped her head up.

            "Hunter…I…I'm sorry, I…"

            He held up his hands, "Hey, no need to be sorry. Katie Torrence is a bitch and a half, if you ask me. If she said anything to you, I wouldn't listen to her. She's a fake piece of a Barbie wannabe." 

            A smile came to Chloe's lips, "You really think I'm better than her?"

            "I think you're ten times better than her." Hunter was down at the landing of the stairs now. He pulled Chloe up onto her feet and wiped her tears away with his thumb, engulfing her into a hug. I smiled slightly at the sight of Hunter and my sister together. They were cute. Quietly, I slipped out of the stairwell and headed down to the cafeteria feeling a lot better that Chloe was happy. The only thing that was bothering me was the fact that Shane and Tori were with Katie. 

            "Hi Dustin," Katie's sugary sweet voice reached my ears as I neared the double doors of the cafeteria. I nodded at her curtly. I would _not_ do anything that I would regret, I willed myself. 

            "I met your sister today," she continued as if I hadn't passed her yet, which I had. I didn't turn around. 

            "She's such a sweetie!" she called after me. By this time, I was gripping my binder with such force that I was surprised it didn't give me paper cuts. Slamming my book down onto the table of our usual lunch table, I stopped whatever conversation that was going on. 

            "Dustin are you okay?" Tori looked up with concern.

            "Just fine," I gritted my teeth, "Perfect actually."

            "Cam's coming out to the tracks today," Blake quickly changed the subject, "What do you think of that?"

            "Cam? On the track? _Again?" I asked incredulously. He nearly killed himself the last time he hopped on a motorbike. Maybe if he stuck with the mini-bike for a while it would be okay, I reasoned with myself._

            "Where's Hunter?" Shane asked, noticing the missing Crimson ranger. 

            "With Chloe," I replied, "They're bonding."

            "WHAT?!" they all exclaimed.

            I laughed, "Not like _that._ They were talking about what a bitch Katie Torrence is when I left them."

            "True enough," Blake nodded, "I can't stand that girl."

            "Who can?" Tori muttered, "Did Chloe tell you what she said to her?"

            I nodded, "Yeah. Thanks for telling her to stop by the way."

            "No problem. We may not like her much, but she's your sister and we still care about you," Shane punched me lightly. I smiled at them weakly. 

*~*

            My friends never caused much of a problem in the beginning. Not really anyway. Besides, it wasn't like they knew about my dad; I was _glad _they didn't know. I didn't think it would get so bad though. I don't think anyone did. 

**Thanks for the reviews:**

**GalaxyPink: **Thanks! I always thought Dustin was deeper than he seemed to be.

**Shishu: **Thank you. Hehe, I love PRNS. I think it's awesome. I never saw the episode with Dustin and his dad. Which episode was that?!

**Wing Zero Gundam: **Hehe, you're funny…here's more! I'll try and update sooner.

**LiLAqUaMaRiE: **I'm thinking they will, but I'm not going to tell you when. =D

**Please review!**


	6. Chapter 6

            Hunter was never one to offer much information about anything that had to do with himself and me being the person I am, I never asked for more than he gave. It worked well for our friendship. If you could call it that anyway. Besides, he was great to my sister and those days, that was all I wanted in a friend.  

*~*

            "Dustin!" I heard him call my name from down the hall. I stopped in my tracks and waited for him to catch up to where I was standing.

            "What's up man?" I asked tiredly. The thing about our relationship that I liked best was, around Hunter, I didn't have to pretend. It was like a breath of fresh air form the suffocating mask I wore full time. We walked on in companionable silence out into the courtyard. We both had free period. Not surprisingly, no one else was out there. Blue Bay Harbor High didn't have the most inviting courtyard, but it was nice. It was almost like the forest that led to the portal for the Wind Ninja Academy. I plopped onto a pile of stray leaves, lying down. Hunter sat against a nearby tree. Neither one of us said a word, each involved in our own thoughts. Not many words were ever exchanged between us when Chloe wasn't around, which meant I had a lot of time to myself since I had a lot of classes with him. We were both seniors as was Shane, but somehow, Shane was in honors classes. 

            "I just don't get it," Hunter spoke suddenly, anger and confusion coursing through his voice.

            "Don't get what?" I asked, propping my head on my elbow. I had a pretty good idea of what he was talking about, but I asked anyway. It wasn't everyday that the elder Bradley offered information like that. 

            "Why they don't like Chloe," he continued, "It's so dumb!" I looked at him, surprised. Hunter met my look and shrugged, blushing furiously, "Well it _is_."

            "I hear you, dude."

            "Blake and I fought last night," he admitted quietly after a pause. My head whipped up in total astonishment. Blake and Hunter fought? But that was impossible! They never fought!

            "Yeah I know, weird huh?" he continued, "But it was like he just didn't understand what I was going through. What I felt. I guess it always seemed like all I wanted was a nice quiet life by myself. I realize I don't have the most inviting personality. But that's what makes Chloe stand out to me. She doesn't care that I won't let her into my thoughts at first because she really likes me and respects my privacy. Instead of prying for information all the time, she waits until I'm ready to tell her. I tried to tell Blake last night and he got all defensive about it. He accused me of betraying him or something. I just don't get it. We're brothers. I love him and I thought no girl would ever come in between us! I didn't let Tori come in between us when Blake told me he liked her. I _still_ don't let Tori come in between us. How could he let Chloe?!"

            I sighed, "I know what you mean, dude. I've known Shane and Tori since the third grade and we've never disagreed about anything more than Chloe. I've always known that they didn't like her, but I never could figure out why. They never openly hated her…at least not to her face. She may have gotten into trouble a few times and she may have been sent to boarding school, but I know for a fact that she did _not_ commit the crime that sent her back here."

            "What was she accused of doing anyway?"

            "I don't know if I should tell you," I hesitated, "Maybe you should ask her."

            Hunter nodded in understanding. We were quiet again for a little while just enjoying the fact that no one was arguing. The bell rang a few minutes later and the two of us got up together to head over to my locker where everyone usually met us for lunch. That day was different though. Nobody else showed up. 

            "Well Shane has to make up a test he was out sick for," I reasoned.

           "Yeah then where's Tori and Blake?" Hunter questioned. Sighing, I banged my head against the locker. Why was everything so complicated all of the sudden? Disapointed, we both made our way to the cafeteria alone.

            "Dustin! Dustin! Dustin!!!" I heard Chloe calling my name multiple times as she raced through Storm Chargers. Kelly laughed as she attempted to skid to a stop in front of me, but failed, falling into my arms. 

            "Damn, Chloe! What's gotten _you_ so happy?" I laughed. 

            "I can't believe he did it! I can't believe he did it!" she repeated over and over again. At this point, I was pretty confused. She was babbling about something and, frankly, I had no idea what she was talking about. 

            "You'll _never_ believe what just happened to me!" she squealed acting like a twelve-year-old teenybopper. I was suddenly reminded of why I never understood girls; why I never had a girlfriend.             "What just happened?" 

            "Guess!" I rolled my eyes. I hated it when she did that. It was so damn annoying. 

            "Santa Clause came early?" I asked her tiredly

            "No!"

            "Um…you got an A on your science test."

            "No!"

            "You learned how to ride motocross properly?"

            "NO!"

            "You-" Finally tired of waiting for me to guess, Chloe blurted it out herself.

            "Hunter asked me out for Friday night!" I dropped the wrench I was holding. 

            "What?"

            "Hunter asked me out!" she repeated. I blinked absently for a few minutes before I cracked a full fledged grin. This was great! This was awesome! Finally the boy did like I told him to! Finally someone listened to Dustin Brooks and _finally_ Dustin Brooks was right! I told Chloe this and her smile grew wider, if that was humanely possible. I didn't think it was, but I guess that I was wrong. For the whole week, almost nothing could bring Hunter and Chloe's moods down. Whenever I saw one of them, it was all smiles and when they saw each other, it was like paradise city. For all parties involved. No one asked questions and we didn't see our 'friends' for most of the week anyway so it wasn't a big deal for us. At least it wasn't until Friday at lunch. 

            Hunter and I headed to the cafeteria with Blake and Shane, Tori already being there. Blake and Hunter hadn't exactly talked about the whole Chloe issue and there was noticeable tension between them, but Shane, Tori, and I tried to mask it with fake cheerfulness. Just like I masked everything else in my life. Hunter had been like a bomb, ticking until he was set off ever since the first fight between him and Blake. That Friday happened to be the big blow-up. We all sat down around the table, as usual, and ate our lunches in an awkward silence. 

            "Anyone want to hang-out tonight?" I asked, trying to make everyone cheer up a little. No one looked up at me except for Hunter. 

            "Sorry dude, I'm busy tonight," he said. 

            I rolled my eyes at him, "I knew that already dude. I was asking the others." 

            Out of nowhere, Blake slammed his milk carton on the tray, milk spraying everywhere, "Why are you doing this, Hunger?" he asked angrily. I jumped. 

            "Doing what?" Hunter muttered. 

            "This! Going out with that idiot sister of Dustin's!"

            "Hey!" I jumped up, "My sister is not an idiot. Maybe you're the idiot. Maybe you don't like her, but don't get mad at Hunter because he does!" 

            Blake stood, "What are you going to do about it, Dustin? Huh? Run to Cam? Because he's not going to protect your sorry ass forever!" 

            "Don't push it, Blake."

            "You mean like this?" he reached out to shove me, but Hunter stepped in between us and grabbed my arm, pulling me back. Shane and Tori didn't say anything to make things worse, but they didn't exactly make things better either. They just stood there staring at us, looks in their eyes evident at which side they were taking. I stared at them for a minute in complete disbelief. I shook my head and grabbed Hunter's arm, pulling him out of the cafeteria before either of us made asses of ourselves. Hunter followed me silently, not even protesting. Why the hell was everyone being so damn difficult with us? 

*~*

            It was the first of so many fights to come and I should have seen it. I should have seen how our group of friends was falling apart. I was so obsessed with trying to fix everything that I didn't see how much worse I was making it. And if, for a second, I just stepped back and looked at everything the way it was, it wouldn't be the way it is today.

**Sorry this chapter sucks and is so short!!! Thanks for all my reviews!**


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